By Camp Correspondent
May 29, 2025 — In a move signaling a sharp deterioration in bilateral relations, Bangladesh has recalled its ambassador and military attaché from Myanmar, following rising tensions and mutual distrust between the two countries over the Arakan Army (AA) and the Rohingya crisis.
On May 27, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Ambassador Md. Monowar Hossain and Military Attaché Major General Aftab Hossain, both stationed at the Bangladeshi Embassy in Yangon, were instructed to return to Dhaka with immediate effect.
The recall follows formal protests from Myanmar’s junta regime—officially known as the State Administration Council (SAC)—which accused Bangladeshi officials of maintaining indirect contact with the Arakan Army, an ethnic Rakhine armed group currently battling junta forces across northern Rakhine State.
Sources familiar with the situation say Myanmar authorities sent a diplomatic note of protest to Dhaka earlier this month, claiming that any form of communication with the AA violated Myanmar’s internal security protocols and undermined its sovereignty.
While Bangladesh has not officially responded to the allegations, the swift withdrawal of its senior diplomats suggests growing discomfort with Myanmar’s stance and a possible recalibration of its diplomatic approach.
Ambassador Monowar Hossain had been serving in Myanmar since 2023, during a period marked by growing instability in Rakhine State and repeated failures in the Rohingya repatriation process. Major General Aftab Hossain, who served as Bangladesh’s key military liaison, was also recalled earlier in May amid similar accusations from the Myanmar side.
This episode marks one of the most serious diplomatic ruptures between the two neighbors in recent years. Analysts warn that the fallout could further delay critical talks on Rohingya repatriation, cross-border security coordination, and the management of escalating violence along the shared frontier.
Bangladesh currently hosts more than a million Rohingya refugees, the vast majority of whom fled Myanmar’s military crackdown in 2017—an event widely condemned as ethnic cleansing by international rights groups. Myanmar, under junta rule, has repeatedly stalled the repatriation process while continuing operations that displace even more Rohingya civilians.
With the Arakan Army expanding its control in Rakhine and new waves of violence displacing civilians, the recall of Bangladeshi officials may mark the beginning of a new phase of regional friction, where diplomacy falters amid deepening humanitarian crises.
